Airport Londonderry (UK) - City of Derry

City of Derry Airport Aerfort Chathair Dhoire Londonderry/Eglinton Airport
IATA: LDY ICAO: EGAE
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Derry City Council
Serves		Derry
Location		Eglinton, County Londonderry
Elevation AMSL		22 ft / 7 m
Coordinates		55°0234N 007°0940W / 55.04278, -7.16111
Website		www.cityofderryairport.com
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
02/20	1,204	3,950	Asphalt
08/26	1,852	6,076	Asphalt
Source: UK AIP at NATS

City of Derry Airport (Irish: Aerfort Chathair Dhoire^{[citation needed]}) (IATA: LDY, ICAO: EGAE) is an airport in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is located near Lough Foyle and the village of Eglinton, 13 kilometres (8 miles) east northeast of the city centre. Passenger numbers in 2007 were almost 430,000, a 30% increase on 2006, and are projected to rise to over 500,000 in 2008.

Eglinton Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P620) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Derry City Council)^[1].

Contents 1 History 2 The Future 3 Incidents and accidents 4 Airlines and destinations 5 Statistics 6 References 7 External links

History

The airport has its origins in World War II. In 1941 RAF Eglinton air base was established as home to No. 133 Squadron RAF which flew Hurricane fighters in defence of the city. In 1942 the base was occupied by No. 41 Squadron RAF. In 1943 the airfield became a Fleet Air Arm base called HMS Gannet and was home to No. 1847 Fleet Air Arm Squadron which provided convoy air cover as part of the Second Battle of the Atlantic.

After the war the base remained a military establishment until the 1950s when the Ministry of Defence returned much of the land to the original landowners. The original name of the airport was Londonderry Eglinton Airport and was usually just referred to as Eglinton. Some limited commercial activities were undertaken at the airfield during the 1960s when Emerald Airways operated a Glasgow service. During most of the 1970s the only flying at Eglinton was carried out by Eglinton Flying Club which is still based at the airport. In 1978 Londonderry County Borough Council (now called Derry City Council) decided to purchase the airfield with a view to improving the transport infrastructure for the North-West of Ireland. The airport has slowly developed since then. Loganair introduced the first scheduled flight between Derry and Glasgow in 1979 and it still operates today. This route was the only route for ten years until Loganair introduced an additional daily Manchester service in 1989.

A major redevelopment programme was undertaken by the Council from 1989 to 1993 with grant aid from the European Regional Development Fund. £10.5 million was spent upgrading all of the facilities at the airport including runways, taxiways, access roads, navigation equipment and runway lighting, as well as a new purpose-built terminal and fire station. The new terminal was officially opened in March 1994. The name of the airport was officially changed from Londonderry Eglinton to the City of Derry Airport. At that time there were still only two scheduled routes carrying about 40,000 passenger each year. 1995 saw the arrival of Jersey European Airways who attempted to operate a short-lived shuttle link between City of Derry and Belfast City Airport.

During 1998 and 1999 safety improvements were undertaken at the airport. As the airport serves much of the Republic of Ireland as well as Northern Ireland, funding came from the Irish government, as well as the British government and Derry City Council. These improvements meant that larger aircraft could use the airport and Falcon Holidays started holiday charter flights in May 1999 and Ryanair followed with scheduled flights in July 1999. This Ryanair service to London Stansted grew substantially and British Airways also started a number of routes.

A previously successful route between Derry and Manchester was axed by British Airways in 2005 as part of its rationalisation of regional services.^{[citation needed]} Previously Aer Arann had run services to Manchester and Birmingham.^[2]

In May 2006, the European Commission gave its approval for the British and Irish governments to invest 15 million in the airport.

The Future

The airport has great transport possibilities for the future. At the end of 2008 work will begin on dualling the A2 from Maydown to Eglinton and the Airport, completing by 20101 a high speed dual carriageway connection to the city. This scheme is proposed to integrate with the motorway schemes from Derry to the Irish border at Aughnacloy and from Dungiven thus increasing the catchment area where it a viable alternative to the Belfast Airports. The runway expansion and the return of Flybe in October 2008 replacing BA's flights (Flybe being Europes largest regional airline) and Aer Arann could see the coming of many more flights and destinations to the already growing portfolio the airport currently holds.

The main Derry - Belfast railway line also passes behind the airport. With future investment from the Republic and Northern Irish Governments in public transport, It is quite feasible that the re-routing of the line could occur with a small station at the airport, and a commuter station located in the nearby villiage of Eglinton. This latter transport option being merely an idea. But this could well see City of Derry Passenger numbers soar past 650,000 in the future.

In recent months although losing one airline, BA from the airports portfolio, Two airlines have annouced their return. These being Aer Arann and Flybe, along with this Ryanair have announced two new flights going to both London Luton and Birmingham. Plans have recently been announced in the Derry Journal that City of Derry Council, who own and operate the airport intend to build a Hotel, Aircraft Painting Hangers, Freight Buildings and Office Accommodation in the next 10 years. This is to co-inside with the ever increasing number of passengers and to make the venture more profitable and beneficial to the Northwest Economy.

Incidents and accidents

• 29 March 2006 - the Irish airline Eirjet issued an apology after a flight it operated from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to City of Derry Airport on behalf of Ryanair landed at the wrong airfield, touching down at an army base in Ballykelly 10 kilometres (6 miles) away from its intended destination. The statement explained that the incident was caused by an "error by the Eirjet pilot who mistakenly believed he was on a visual approach to City of Derry airport". ^[3] An air accident investigation report in January 2007 reported that the pilot had been unable to obtain the correct set of charts prior to the flight, only obtaining them the day after the incident. The pilot stated that if he had seen the charts, he would have been fully aware of the existence of Ballykelly and would not have landed there. The crew believed the instrument landing aid system at City of Derry was malfunctioning as what they saw of the runway did not match the instrument readings and the presence of an instrument calibrating aircraft close by added to their belief that there was a technical fault. The report also stated that although an air traffic controller thought the jet was "slightly low" he did not warn the crew about the other runway.
• 24 May 2007 - The airport was closed by Civil Aviation Authority following an inspection. Problems found include lack of an effective bird control plan, unsuitable temporary repairs to the area where planes park and poor runway drainage.^[4] Four days later, after reinspection, the CAA allowed the airport to be reopened. Changes made to the airport included placing nets over culverts and ponds near by, repairs to the aircraft parking apron and minor drainage work carried out on the runway. All cancelled airlines, including British Airways and Ryanair subsequently resumed full services.^[5]

Airlines and destinations

The following scheduled airlines use City of Derry Airport (at May 2008):

• Aer Arann (Dublin)
• British Airways
  • operated by Loganair (Glasgow-International [ends 25 October])
• Flybe
  • operated by Loganair (Glasgow-International) [begins 26 October])
• Ryanair (Birmingham [begins 26 October], Bristol, East Midlands, Glasgow-Prestwick, Liverpool, London-Luton [begins 28 October], London-Stansted)

There are also chartered routes to the following destinations:

• First Choice Airways (Reus)
• Futura International Airways (Palma de Mallorca)

Statistics

Number of Passengers [6] Number of Movements [7] 1997 56,043 3,121 1998 49,095 2,740 1999 103,504 2,329 2000 162,704 3,261 2001 187,519 4,736 2002 199,146 4,340 2003 205,505 4,728 2004 234,487 4,309 2005 199,357 4,146 2006 341,719 4,748 2007 427,586 5,733 Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority [1]

Passenger numbers for 2005 fell following a reduction in Ryanair services to London Stansted due to safety restrictions over the absence of a runway overshoot area^{[citation needed]}. Services were then restored following the commencement of work on a runway extension. In 2006 new Ryanair services commenced to East Midlands, Liverpool and Glasgow-Prestwick, with Bristol commencing in November 2007. Passenger numbers for 2007 were 427,586, with over 500,000 passengers forecast in 2008 and up to 650,000 in 2009 following completion of the runway extension.^{[citation needed]}

References

• Airport information for EGAE at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.

External links

• City of Derry Airport

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This article based on this article: City_of_Derry_Airport from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and work with the GNU Free Documentation License. In Wikipedia is this list of the authors.